I have seen helicopters dip water from swimming pools, but not from one with as little clearance from obstructions as this one.
You can see the video HERE.
Category: Helicopters
The use of helicopters in fire suppression and management.
Firefighters fill bucket while helicopter hovers
Over on Wildfire Today an article about some recent wildfires in central Europe had these photos that were captured from a video, of firefighters in Germany using hoses to fill a helicopter’s bucket while the aircraft hovered overhead — a technique that was new to us.
Kamov KA-32 helicopter crashes while fighting wildfire in B.C.
A Russian-built Kamov KA-32 helicopter made a crash landing in British Columbia Sunday, August 4. Jen Norie of VIH Aviation Group confirmed that one of their helicopters was conducting water dropping operations on a wildfire near Bella Colla, British Columbia using an external bucket when the aircraft developed an engine problem. The ship made a hard landing on uneven terrain collapsing at least one landing gear, which caused the aircraft to tip over about 30 degrees. The twin overhead counter-rotating main rotors struck the ground, which of course destroyed them.
Thankfully the two pilots walked away with no injuries, so in that sense it was a “good landing”. There were no passengers on board.
Ms. Norie said the company has been operating KA-32s since the mid-1990s, accumulating over 46,000 flight hours without a major incident, until Sunday.
AVID air tanker report released
The U.S. Forest Service has released another study on air tankers (large 10mb file), which is one of nine commissioned by the agency on the topic since 1995. The $380,000 contract for this one was awarded to AVID, a Virginia-based company that employed a crew of retired and current aviation professionals for this project.
It would be helpful if an expensive 117-page report like this clearly stated the objectives for the study, but all we could find was this:
The purpose of this study is to build analytical data that can be used to estimate the requirement for airtankers in the future.
The report includes a huge quantity of statistics about how air tankers have been used over the last several years. I was expecting to see some concrete recommendations about how they should be used in the future, but there was little along those lines.
This study, like the RAND report, included no information about Very Large Air Tankers. But while the RAND study was favorable toward scoopers, this AVID report addresses them like this:
There is a relatively small amount of USFS background data that documents the use of scooper aircraft, making it difficult to come to conclusions regarding their use. While continued analysis of scooper usage is warranted, the focus of the current analysis is primarily on large airtanker usage, followed by heavy helicopter usage.
There was little else in the report about scoopers, reinforcing the perception that the USFS has a bias against them.
There was definitely some interesting data in the study, and below are two illustrations. Click on them to see larger versions.
Other air tanker studies
- 1995-1996, National Air Tanker Study (NATS)
- 2002, Blue Ribbon Panel
- 2005, Wildland Fire Management Aerial Application Study
- 2009, National Interagency Aviation Council
- 2009, USDA OIG Audit Report
- 2011, RAND
- 2012, USFS Rocky Mountain Research Station
- 2012, AVID firefighting aircraft study (large 10mb file)
- 2013, Convergent C-27J report
Night flying helicopter used on the Mountain Fire
The U.S. Forest Service has been using their new night flying helicopter and air attack ship on the Mountain Fire west of Palm Springs, and proudly produced this graphic.
And, they should be proud. It is a big step for an agency that is not known for innovation in their aerial firefighting program. The night flying helicopter concept was reintroduced in the USFS during the first part of June this year.
Martin Mars and other aircraft attack fire near Powell River
In this video the Martin Mars, a single engine air tanker, and several helicopters are seen making water drops on a fire near Powell River in British Columbia June 9.
Below is an excerpt from an article in the Alberni Valley Times:
A two-hectare slash fire in Powell River is now under control, and it offered a good opportunity for the Hawaii Mars to show off the important role it can play in firefighting – an essential step given that the province has announced it will not use the bomber next fire season.
Alberni Valley resources played a big part in containing the blaze. Both the Martin Mars \water bomber and Thunderbird fire unit headed out to fight the Powell River fire on Tuesday.
“It was excellent for us,” said Wayne Coulson, CEO of the Coulson group, which owns the water bomber. “We did about four loads and whacked it out with a couple of other machines, and it was a quick one.”
According to Coastal Fire Centre fire information officer Marg Drysdale, the fire was three kilometres northeast of Powell River and the resources that took care of it were three initial attack crews, two officers and half a unit crew, which were the Thunderbirds.
“And then they brought in air tankers, including the Martin Mars,” Drysdale said. “And it knocked the fire down really well.” The fire was reported at 1: 55 p.m. and the Mars bomber began its action in Powell River at 5: 05 p.m., before finishing at 6: 16 p.m. after dropping four loads.
Thanks go out to John
Helicopter crashes into river near Missoula
A helicopter made a crash landing into a river Friday while recertifying for water bucket operations near Missoula, Montana. The Missoulian, which has a photo of the Bell 206L-3 sitting upright in three feet of water, reported that it crashed into the Clark Fork River off Big Flat Road west of Missoula. (Another photo.) The article said the pilot, who reported a mechanical failure, and a passenger both survived the crash. The passenger got to shore on his own, while rescuers got the pilot out of the ship and to safety.
The N number on the helicopter is under water and not visible in the photo but the Missoulian article said the helicopter is owned by a Lewiston, Idaho company.
The helicopter sitting in the river has a paint job similar to those at Hillcrest Aviation, based in Lewiston, Idaho.
Thanks go out to Dick and Chris
Lakota helicopter used at Black Forest Fire
The Colorado Army National Guard supplied a UH-72 Lakota helicopter at the Black Forest Fire near Colorado Springs. The ship was parked at the baseball field adjacent to Pine Creek School and was used for recon on the fire.
The Lakota is a militarized version of the Eurocopter EC145. EASDS North America, which manufactures it in Columbus, Mississippi, says 267 have been built.
According to Wikipedia, it has a useful load of 3,953 pounds and can carry 8 troops. I am not aware of any being used to drop water on fires, but if the “useful load” figure is accurate that would translate to around 400 gallons of water and a Bambi Bucket, if it is capable of carrying an external load.
Other military helicopters were also used on the Black Forest Fire, including two UH60s and two CH47s, from Ft. Carson and the Colorado Army National Guard. Below is a photo taken from one of those aircraft.
